FBI arrests OpenAI engineer for planting recording devices, finds no data leak - CHOSUNBIZ

A Saudi Arabian engineer was arrested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on suspicion of secretly installing a recording device in an executive conference room at OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. OpenAI said it has not found any signs so far that core technology or customer information was leaked outside.

According to Reuters and the U.S. Department of Justice on the 13th (local time), the FBI arrested Abdulrahman Alfozan (35), a Saudi Arabian national who worked as an OpenAI engineer, on the 9th. Alfozan was indicted on charges of illegally intercepting or attempting to intercept others' conversations using an electronic device. He has worked as an engineer at OpenAI since July last year. He has held U.S. permanent residency since September 2020.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, OpenAI employees found a hidden recording device on the 30th of last month in an executive conference room at an office in San Francisco. The device was plugged into the USB port on the back of the conference room TV and concealed with tissue paper. The thumb-sized device has a built-in microphone and can also connect a camera, it was found.

Investigators believe the device was installed around the 28th of last month. However, the data stored on the device is encrypted, so its contents have not been checked. According to a complaint filed with the FBI, Alfozan appeared several times around the executive conference room before the recording device was discovered. He was found to have had no authorization to access the room or attend meetings held there.

◇ Searching for conference room info with AI… OpenAI also used AI to track the suspect

There were also indications that Alfozan used artificial intelligence (AI) tools to collect internal company information. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, he used an AI-based productivity tool to search for OpenAI office addresses, conference room locations, capacity, and meeting schedules. Records were also found in a chatbot account linked to Alfozan's spouse showing questions entered about building and installing recording devices, remote access, and encrypting stored data.

Investigators also confirmed via closed-circuit (CC) TV that on the 5th Alfozan entered the executive conference room and appeared to examine the back of the TV where the recording device had been installed. The same day, OpenAI security personnel found an additional similar recording device in a bag of Alfozan's placed in another conference room.

OpenAI said it used its own AI models to identify the person suspected of installing the recording device and to trace the device's origin. The company said it secured evidence that Alfozan additionally installed recording devices in other high-security areas in the office to secretly record meeting content.

FBI Director General Kash Patel said, "Alfozan is accused of hiding a recording device in an executive conference room to secretly record sensitive conversations related to the company's superintelligence technology." According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the room often hosted discussions of proprietary research results, product development plans, and business strategies—key information not disclosed to the public.

However, it has not been confirmed whether any actual technical information was leaked. On social media (SNS) X (formerly Twitter), OpenAI said, "So far there is no indication that the employee improperly accessed or leaked AI model weights, source code, or customer data." OpenAI fired Alfozan and turned the case over to the FBI.

Alfozan is currently in federal custody. He is scheduled to have a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse on the 19th (local time). If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine (335 million won), and three years of supervised release thereafter.